OH, God, I'm so excited. I'm getting a new tail!"

These were the first words out of the mouth of the lovely Sierra Boggess when I met the star of Broadway's big hit, The Little Mermaid, at the Disney offices on Manhattan's Seventh Avenue.

Miss Boggess is a true child of show biz. She was a skating phenom as a kid -- Dainty June on ice -- and was plucked from the lavish Las Vegas production of Phantom of the Opera to become the star of Mermaid. She is not, despite her experience, a tough cookie, just ... appetizingly chewy. She knows the ropes. She also knows when a mermaid's tail is just too hard to handle. "People think it's motorized, because of the way it moves, but it's because of the way I move. I do a lot of stuff with my arms and my back to give the tail -- personality! But the old one was very heavy and a bit awkward. The replacement is much lighter."

Boggess is delightful as Ariel, the innocent sea siren who falls for human Prince Eric, defying her father, King Triton. Here, we have teenage rebellion on the half-shell. She is the perfect Broadway ingenue, but when I compliment her leading lady appeal, she says, "Funny thing, when I did plays in school I never wanted to be the pretty girl, the lead. I always wanted the character role. When we did Guys and Dolls, I didn't want the Sarah Brown role; I wanted Miss Adelaide. And even Adelaide was too glamorous for my taste -- she was a showgirl!" But destiny is in the physical details, and the tiny, beautiful Boggess won't be playing harridans anytime soon.

She is a huge fan of Barbra Streisand. So much so that word got back to the great diva, who sent an opening night note. "Not a great idea," says Sierra laughing, "to give me that note minutes before I went onstage. I kept saying, 'No, no, I can't go on. People are going to be seeing a very hysterical little mermaid!'" She adds, "Of course, I did go on. And I found again, that in this role, I could use those emotions. Even when I'm having a bad night, for some reason, I can use it. Ariel has a lot of colors."

Prince Charming

Midway through my chat with Boggess, her handsome Prince Eric, Sean Palmer, popped in. He is even better looking up close, than onstage in his royal get-up. Palmer was on Broadway last season in the revival of The Apple Tree and he has done other stage work and TV.

Palmer admits the show is so strenuous he hardly has time for anything but "walking the dog ... that's all I can do except sleep, when I can sleep."

Palmer and Boggess are as charming together in person as they are steeped in the Disney-created characters they play. Both have a slightly shell-shocked air -- the pair seem to be just awakening to the fact they are in a huge hit, and that their lives have changed. Boggess says, "I'm still navigating how to appreciate this and also go on with being ... me."